Deuteronomy 21:23

Deuteronomy 21:23 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
• New International Version (NIV)you must not leave the body hanging on the pole overnight. Be sure to bury it that same day, because anyone who is hung on a pole is under God’s curse. You must not desecrate the land the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.
• English Standard Version (ESV)his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance.
• New King James Version (NKJV)his body shall not remain overnight on the tree, but you shall surely bury him that day, so that you do not defile the land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance; for he who is hanged is accursed of God.

Context of Deuteronomy 21:23

21Then all the men of his city shall stone him to death; so you shall eliminate the evil from your midst, and all Israel will hear about it and fear. 22“Now if a person has committed a sin carrying a sentence of death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body is not to be left overnight on the tree, but you shall certainly bury him on the same day (for he who is hanged is cursed of God), so that you do not defile your land which the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance.

Deuteronomy 21:23 word by word

לֹא־תָלִ֨ין נִבְלָת֜וֹ עַל־הָעֵ֗ץ כִּֽי־קָב֤וֹר תִּקְבְּרֶ֙נּוּ֙ בַּיּ֣וֹם הַה֔וּא כִּֽי־קִלְלַ֥ת אֱלֹהִ֖ים תָּל֑וּי וְלֹ֤א תְטַמֵּא֙ אֶת־אַדְמָ֣תְךָ֔ אֲשֶׁר֙ יְהוָ֣ה אֱלֹהֶ֔יךָ נֹתֵ֥ן לְךָ֖ נַחֲלָֽה׃ סRead the interlinear

• his bodyנְבֵלָהnebêlâh · carcassH5038
• is not to be leftלוּןlûn lîyn · to lodgeH3885
• overnightלוּןlûn lîyn · to lodgeH3885
• treeעֵץ‛êts · treeH6086
• but you shall certainlyקָבַרqâbar · to buryH6912
• him on the sameהוּאhû' hîy' · he/she/itH1931
• dayיוֹםyôm · dayH3117
• he who is hangedתָּלָהtâlâh · to hangH8518
• is cursedקְלָלָהqelâlâh · curseH7045
• of Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430
• do not defileטָמֵאţâmê' · to defileH2930
• your landאֲדָמָה'ădâmâh · land: soilH127
• whichאֲשֶׁר'ăsher · whichH834
• the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• is givingנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
• you as an inheritanceנַחֲלָהnachălâh · inheritanceH5159

Cross-references for Deuteronomy 21:23

• John 19:31Now then, since it was the day of preparation, to prevent the bodies from remaining on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews requested of Pilate that their legs be broken, and the bodies be taken away.
• Deuteronomy 7:26And you shall not bring an abomination into your house and become designated for destruction, like it; you are to utterly detest it, and you are to utterly loathe it, for it is something designated for destruction.
• Numbers 25:4And the Lord said to Moses, “Take all the leaders of the people and execute them in broad daylight before the Lord, so that the fierce anger of the Lord may turn away from Israel.”
• Joshua 7:12Therefore the sons of Israel cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs before their enemies, because they have become designated for destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you eliminate from your midst the things designated for destruction.
• 2 Samuel 21:6let seven men from his sons be given to us, and we will hang them before the Lord in Gibeah of Saul, the chosen of the Lord.” And the king said, “I will give them.”
• Romans 9:3For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my countrymen, my kinsmen according to the flesh,
• Galatians 3:13Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us--for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”--
• 1 Corinthians 16:22If anyone does not love the Lord, he is to be accursed. Maranatha!
• 2 Corinthians 5:21He made Him who knew no sin to be sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
• Leviticus 18:25For the land has become defiled, therefore I have brought its punishment upon it, so the land has vomited out its inhabitants.
• Numbers 35:33So you shall not defile the land in which you live; for blood defiles the land, and no atonement can be made for the land for the blood that is shed on it, except by the blood of the one who shed it.

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 21:23

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23His body shall not remain all night upon the tree - Its exposure for the space of one day was judged sufficient. The law which required this answered all the ends of public justice, exposed the shame and infamy of the conduct, but did not put to torture the feelings of humanity by requiring a perpetual exhibition of a human being, a slow prey to the most loathsome process of putrefaction. Did ever the spiking of the heads of state criminals prevent high…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23He that is hanged is accursed of God - i. e. “Bury him that is hanged out of the way before evening: his hanging body defiles the land; for God‘s curse rests on it.” The curse of God is probably regarded as lying on the malefactor because, from the fact of his being hanged, be must have been guilty of a especially atrocious breach of God‘s covenant. Such an offender could not remain on the face of the earth without defiling it (compare Leviticus 18:25…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 22-23Verses 22-23 By the law of Moses, the touch of a dead body was defiling, therefore dead bodies must not be left hanging, as that would defile the land. There is one reason here which has reference to Christ; "He that is hanged is accursed of God;" that is, it is the highest degree of disgrace and reproach. Those who see a man thus hanging between heaven and earth, will conclude him abandoned of both, and unworthy of either. Moses, by the Spirit, uses this…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 23anyone who is hung (literally a man hung): The ancient Greek version reads for everyone who is hanged on a tree. Compare Galatians 3:13, which explains how this saying applies to Jesus. is under God's curse: Sinners who refuse to repent experience God's judgment. But this saying probably means that people would assume God cursed someone in this condition. In reality, the person might have been misjudged or even killed without a legal trial.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 22-2322-23. if a man have committed a sin ... and thou hang him on a tree--Hanging was not a Hebrew form of execution (gibbeting is meant), but the body was not to be left to rot or be a prey to ravenous birds; it was to be buried "that day," either because the stench in a hot climate would corrupt the air, or the spectacle of an exposed corpse bring ceremonial defilement on the land.Read the comment

Topics related to Deuteronomy 21:23

• Accursed
• Burial
• Hanging
• Punishment
• Quotations and Allusions
• Sanitation

In the dictionaries

• God
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• That Day
• Adonizedec
• Controversy
• Crucifixion
• Divers
• Hanging
• Rebellious
• Wrought

Commentaries on Deuteronomy 21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings